Gear cutting machines currently comprise a display which is utilized for reproducing various operating parameters of the gear cutting machine. Required inputs for the control of the gear cutting machine are actuated by the operator via a separate, external operating element. The operating element as a rule comprises one or more mechanical keys or key panels via which specific control commands can be input by pressure actuation or configuration parameters can be programmed.
The operator can check the input control commands or read off the current operating parameters using the display element. The representation is in this respect fixedly predefined and not individually adaptable to the individual user. Such a machine control or operation admittedly serves its purpose, but is not particularly comfortable.
It is the object of the present disclosure to provide a gear cutting machine which allows a better and more comfortable handling.
This object is achieved by a gear cutting machine having a machine control as well as at least one display for displaying machine-relevant parameters. In accordance with the present disclosure, the at least one display is multitouch-operable and an operator input for controlling the gear cutting machine takes place at least in part by touching the display. The screen and the multitouch screen are optionally combined and lie on top of one another.
The operator can in particular input corresponding control commands into the gear cutting machine on the basis of various multifinger gestures, which allows a particularly comfortable operation of the gear cutting machine. The operator can touch the objects displayed on the screen, can drag them, change their size, rotate them or mark a plurality of objects simultaneously. Popular multifinger applications are zooming and rotating objects in that two fingers are moved apart from one another or rotated with respect to one another.
The at least one multitouch operable display can, for example, have a resistive, capacitive, optical or inductive touch-sensitive surface. It is conceivable that the gear cutting machine has both non-touch operable and touch operable displays.
The use of a multitouch operable display not only allows an optimized and more comprehensive human/machine interaction, but extensive possibilities are also opened up for implementing an innovative operating concept. It is conceivable that the visual display representation of the one or more machine parameters can be individually configured. Ideally, the visual representation of one or more machine-relevant parameters by an input via the touch-sensitive display can be configured with respect to the representation properties and with respect to the extent of the information shown.
The number of parameters can be varied with regard to the extent of the machine-relevant parameters shown to ensure a more comprehensive representation of information for the operator as desired or to ensure the clarity of the displayed information by reducing the information content. Ideally, the operator is given the possibility of selecting or temporarily displaying all available machine-relevant parameters for the representation. Unnecessary or less relevant parameters can be faded out or shown in the background.
An individual adaptation of the color, pattern, brightness, contrast effect with respect to the background, gloss effects, mirroring and reflection, shadows, etc. is conceivable. The adaptation can take place via the multitouch operable display.
Instructions can furthermore be provided which allow a user-dependent display representation of one or more machine-relevant parameters. Different representation skins or themes can be stored in a representation profile in memory.
The preparation of operator-dependent profiles is also possible. The gear cutting machine ideally has instructions for operator recognition and/or operator verification/authentication. A user-dependent display representation is ideally automatically generated or shown after inputting the user code.
One or more operator profiles can be stored which can be accessed by the operator manually or automatically and corresponding display representations can be automatically displayed. The user can thus configure the preferred type of representation once and can store it in his/her personal profile. A user-dependent display representation is in particular advantageous when the gear cutting machine is to be operated by a plurality of users. Each operator can access his individual display representation by selecting the respective profile.
In a particular embodiment, the display representation in the multitouch operable display is divided into one or more windows. Each window in this respect serves the presentation of a specific number of machine-relevant parameters. Each window can be configured individually via the touch display, in particular with respect to the window size and with respect to the type and extent of the machine-relevant parameters shown. The windows can, for example, be positioned at any desired point of the display. The same applies to the window size which can be altered particularly simply with the aid of a multifinger gesture.
It is equally conceivable in this connection that the display representation is not only divided into one or more windows, but rather into one or more virtual screens between which it is possible to browse to and fro with the aid of a swiping movement.
Provision can be made for a simple expansion of the machine functionality that the machine control is configured such that one or more external applications can be installed and executed on the machine. The gear cutting machine can thus be expanded with respect to functionality with regard to the basic functions provided by the manufacturer by installing various third-party applications. The one or more installed and executable third-party applications can in particular make use of the input and output possibility of the touch-sensitive display. The customers thus have the possibility to adapt or expand the functionality of the gear cutting machine to their personal desires by their own applications.
Furthermore, the gear cutting machine can have one or more storage devices, such as computer memory, for storing one or more video files. The reproduction of the one or more stored video files by the machine control can take place over the multitouch-operable display. The video files can include training films which offer the customer a video introduction into the function and configuration of the gear cutting machine. Individual video files can be executed by the operator over the multitouch-operable display and can be displayed via the display element.
Different data formats, i.e. video formats, can be stored on the storage device. In principle, everything can be stored and reproduced which a current operating system, for example Windows 7, can process. This can include PDF documents, CAD data, images, videos, etc.
The gear cutting machine can furthermore have one or more video recording devices. It is conceivable that such internal video cameras are arranged in the region of the machine table or workpiece mount and/or tool mount and can detect individual gear cutting processes. The executed processes of the gear cutting machine are frequently not accessible or visible from the machine desk of the gear cutting machine. The processes on the display can be displayed comfortably with the aid of the internal video camera and provide the user with insight into the gear cutting process. Furthermore, the provided image files of the one or more internal video cameras can also be recorded on an internal or, alternatively, an external storage device and can be provided for the later reproduction over the multitouch-operable display or over another display.
Further advantages and details of the present disclosure will be explained in more detail in the following with reference to a number of drawings.